


Nine.

by better_times_are_coming



Series: as long as i have you, it will all be fine [6]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bullying, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, M/M, parents soonhoon, parents wonhan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:33:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28343961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/better_times_are_coming/pseuds/better_times_are_coming
Summary: Seungcheol is nine and a kid from football club picks on him.(And Mingyu protects him).
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups & Kim Mingyu, Jeon Wonwoo/Yoon Jeonghan, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Jihoon | Woozi
Series: as long as i have you, it will all be fine [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2072142
Comments: 13
Kudos: 102





	Nine.

**Author's Note:**

> I've added roughly 1.500 words on this one (in case you read it on twt), so hope you enjoy this new version!
> 
> Mentions of blood, minor injuries.

Seungcheol is nine and a kid from football club picks on him. 

It’s hard for both of them in the new school, and for some reason Seungcheol hasn’t gotten his growth stupor just yet, most kids in his class being older and bigger than him. 

That’s when the adults make a collective decision to make Seungcheol and Mingyu join a sports club at school. 

They end up deciding football. 

Mingyu excels at most sports, he has joined Jeonghan ice skating as early as a three year old, and had been playing basketball and hockey since he was five. 

And Seungcheol has slowly but surely joined him in all of those, he’s not as good as Mingyu, but he’s a quick learner, and they delight in playing together. 

So football it is, Mingyu isn’t particularly good but he’d like to learn, and Seungcheol has never played. 

All in all, it had seemed like a good chance to let the boys explore a new activity. 

Seungcheol had started on defender and had moved into goalkeeper (he wasn’t good in that), and finally ended up as forward. 

And he gains his worth as he plays forward in the school’s team, his classmates realize how _good_ he’s at it. 

And that’s when the problems begin. 

With talent comes jealousy and in one of the Tuesdays practices, a friendly match, one of their teammates gets aggressive with Seungcheol. 

It had seemed like an accident first. 

Kihyun had even said sorry after kicking him ( _i was aiming for the ball!_ ), but then he kept bumping into Seungcheol, and on the fifth time he does, Seungcheol actually falls, scraping his knees and palms as he tries not to land on his face. 

Seungcheol gets up quickly, embarrassed and teary eyed because his skin _burns_ and he feels a little silly when he falls. 

He hears laughter and snickering behind him, and even though his cheeks are warm as the coach signals him for him to go wash his hands and face, Seungcheol would rather leave right now.

He can feel Mingyu’s eyes on him, he’s sitting on the bench this time around, since he sprained his ankle at the last practice. 

His friend gets up also with a tiny concerned _hyung_ , and Seungcheol feels he’ll cry if he looks at Mingyu right now. 

There’s so much comfort in watching him, knowing he’s _there_ and Seungcheol really wants that, he- 

“ _Seungcheol_ , go wash up.” 

He tries not to flinch as he goes. 

He doesn’t want to limp either, because even though he feels something wet trickling down his right leg, it’s so embarrassing. 

Even though his breathing has gone heavy, and he thinks he’s about to cry as he heads to the bathroom, he remembers Uncle Wonwoo’s words and takes deep breaths, feels a little better after he’s done. 

It’s okay, he’s okay. 

Soonyoung’s words ring in his ears _sometimes we fall when we play, huh? come on, it’s okay, honey_

But he didn’t _fall_! Kihyun pushed him… he bumped into him, on _purpose_. 

That’s not fair, is it?

Seungcheol thinks about going back and maybe calling his parents so they’ll pick him up early.

Jihoon and Soonyoung said he could.

Yeah, and he can come back home, he wishes he could be back at home and maybe- 

“Coach sent me to see if you were ready,” Seungcheol freezes when he recognizes Kihyun’s voice and he turns.

He isn’t alone. 

He’s joined by two friends of his grade, and they’re blocking the door. 

Seungcheol’s breath hitches, because Kihyun is about to turn eleven and Seungcheol is only nine, and he has always felt so small whenever he stands next to him. 

“Come on, did you come here just to cry?” Kihyun says, causing the other two to share a laugh. Seungcheol feels his face grow hot. “What a baby.” 

Seungcheol doesn’t reply. 

He’s too scared to do so, glued to the spot. 

“Can’t the baby talk?” Kihyun adds and takes a step forward, and that does it for Seungcheol, he steps back, his elbow hitting the wall as he does. 

“I-I just…” Seungcheol starts, unsure. “I’m... I'm not a baby.” 

“Talk properly, will you?” 

Seungcheol can’t. 

He gets even more nervous when people comment on his shyness and he really _really_ wishes he could leave right now. 

But Seungcheol has the feeling they won’t let him and he _is_ scared and in pain. 

The next thing happens in a blur, because Seungcheol starts crying, and Kihyun and his friends start laughing at him, and they take another step forward, and when Seungcheol thinks they’re about to hurt him for real, everything stops. 

And when he opens his eyes, Kihyun is on the floor, holding a bloody nose, his friends are _gone_ and…

Mingyu is standing in front of him, and finally words start to register again. 

“... never again, did you hear me?” Mingyu warns Kihyun, and Seungcheol thinks how he’s younger but all the kids are jealous of how tall Mingyu is, how strong for his age. “If you hurt hyung again, I’ll punch you twice as hard.” 

Seungcheol has never felt more relieved of seeing Mingyu and he realizes he isn’t shaking anymore, he’s going to be _fine_. 

“Mingyu…” Seungcheol starts, wanting to say he’s thankful, and that’s he’s afraid they’ll get into trouble and- 

And that’s when the coach had arrived. 

*

All four adults rush to school. 

They had been surprised when they got simultaneous calls from school, and on their way there, they can’t help but think that the incident involved both of their children. 

The sight that greets them confirms it, and they find Mingyu calmly comforting one very distressed (and hurt) Seungcheol. 

As they quickly realize that the kids being together means that they won’t know what happened (last week, _one_ of them had broken the screen of Jeonghan’s laptop, and instead of admitting who the author of that was -adults knew it was Mingyu-, they had _both_ taken the punishment for lying instead, their loyalty was scary), Jihoon gently takes one of Seungcheol’s hands, and nudges him towards them. 

Seungcheol shakes his head, refusing with a whiny _no_ , and tightening the hold he has with Mingyu’s hand.

“Cheol,” Jihoon asks, and Mingyu and Seungcheol share a glance, and it must be convincing enough, because they nod, and Seungcheol lets himself be guided to another bench. 

As soon as Seungcheol reluctantly sits, Jihoon fixes his fringe, mumbles words of comfort to him. 

At their side, Soonyoung is a quiet, fuming presence, eyes hard as he stares at the dry blood that trickled down Seungcheol’s knee. 

He looks like he’s about to kill someone. 

Jeonghan doesn’t look at them anymore, giving the trio some privacy as he turns towards his son. 

“Okay,” Jeonghan sits next to Mingyu, scans his body for injuries, and when he finds none, he gently coaxes him to speak. “Baby, what happened?” 

Mingyu refuses to look up after he looked at Seungcheol just now, his eyes glued to his joined hands instead. 

Wonwoo notices dry blood on his knuckles and fingers, and he wonders if he was helping clean out the blood from Seungcheol’s wound or did he… 

“Mingyu,” Jeonghan insists, comforting as he places one hand on Mingyu’s arm, squeezes a little. “We’re not mad at you, we’re worried. Can you tell us what happened please?” 

Mingyu shakes his head and Jeonghan frowns, considers why would Mingyu still not say anything, but Wonwoo comes to the realization first, gently adds: 

“We’re not mad at Seungcheol either,” Mingyu looks up then, looking hopeful. _Bingo_. “Okay?”

Jeonghan parts his lips, surprised, and briefly turns to his husband, winks at him. 

_so smart, hot stuff_

Wonwoo only rolls his eyes at Jeonghan’s antics, and just then Mingyu decides to speak, sounding a little unsure. 

“... They hurt hyung.” 

Oh.

Jeonghan is starting to understand. 

“Who hurt hyung?” Wonwoo asks, tilting Mingyu’s chin up, and Mingyu finally holds his gaze. 

The only way to know if Mingyu is being fully honest with them is making sure he’s looking to them in the eye

And Wonwoo has the feeling they’ll need to know, because they’ve been called to speak to the principal of all people… 

They need to defend the kids somehow. 

“Kihyun…” He whispers, and then, because he doesn’t feel particularly guilty about it, he adds, “I hit him on the nose. He bled a lot.”

“Okay,” Jeonghan and Wonwoo share a glance. “It’s not okay to hit people, baby. We use our words-” 

“But appa,” Mingyu interrupts, frowning as if he can’t really make sense of the situation. “Kihyun didn’t use his words, he hurt hyung, he pushed him to the ground, a lot of times! And-and then he followed him to the bathroom and he was picking on him!” 

“Yes, darling,” Jeonghan told him, patiently. “But he did something he wasn’t supposed to do, he was wrong.” 

Mingyu looks up, ready to protest again, looking so damn determined, that it makes Wonwoo think that in a few years, it’ll be Mingyu and Seungcheol against the world. 

How endearing and scary will that be. 

“However,” Jeonghan adds, because he has to, because seeing Seungcheol upset hurts as much as seeing Mingyu get hurt. Because if some kid was hurting Mingyu, Jeonghan would want Seungcheol to protect him. Someway or another. “I understand they were hurting Cheollie, and you wanted to protect him.” 

“They made hyung cry,” Mingyu whispers, as if to cement his point. _they made hyung cry_ , that’s _unforgivable_. And he sounds so mad that on any other occasion they’d think the kids had hurt Mingyu instead. 

“They made hyung cry, huh,” Wonwoo repeats, as if he can’t believe it.

But he should.

This shouldn’t be a surprise.

He thinks he should feel calmer, maybe, knowing that the kids will have each other’s backs. 

That thought makes him smile. 

“I didn’t want Kihyun to hurt hyung again,” Mingyu says, with a pout. “I promised hyung I’d protect him…” 

And what can they say to that? 

It’s hard. 

They’re inseparable.

And Wonwoo and Jeonghan don’t want that to turn into a bad thing, and it is beautiful, their bond is like no other. 

“I…” Jeonghan starts, and then sighs, looks at his husband for reassurance. “We understand, baby. You didn’t act the right way, but it was for the right reasons.” 

“I know it’s not okay to hit people,” Mingyu whispers, and Wonwoo thinks he really knows. So no point in dwelling in that. “But appa, I _had_ to.” 

There’s no place for doubt in that sentence, Wonwoo thinks, Mingyu _had_ to, because the sky is blue and water is wet. 

“Okay,” Jeonghan takes a deep breath, bracing himself for what’s to come, hoping their kid won’t get expelled or something. The principal won’t understand this situation the way they do. “Thank you for being honest with us, sweetheart.” 

Mingyu flushes a little and he stands up, leans on Wonwoo for a hug, and takes both of his parent’s hands, his eyes inevitably finding Seungcheol again. 

Jihoon and Soonyoung are waiting for their son to calm down. 

Well, at least Jihoon is. 

Soonyoung has gone quiet, in a way that’s worrying. 

But Jihoon can only worry about one person at a time, and right now, Seungcheol looks tiny in his football’s uniform, covered in dirt and stained with blood. 

He needs comfort. 

And he still isn’t calm enough to explain.

Jihoon fixes his fringe, cleans his face and lets him breathe it out. 

Counts. 

He has no idea what has managed to make Seungcheol this anguished, but he knows it isn’t just about getting hurt. 

It has to do with something more. 

Seungcheol doesn’t cry when he falls anymore, and Jihoon can’t say he’s not mad to whoever caused his son to react like this. 

He wants to know who hurt him. 

“I… I didn’t want this to happen, appa,” He whispers. “I was-was playing, but Kihyun-hyung got mad… and I… and he pushed me, and it hurt, but I didn’t do anything to him, I promise, appa.” 

Jihoon inspects Seungcheol’s bloody palm, the scratches there. 

He must have landed pretty roughly to get that kind of wound. 

Jihoon is _so_ mad, he can’t even put it into words. 

And he’s perfectly aware of who Kihyun is, almost two years older than Seungcheol, and definitely a head taller. 

Seungcheol himself didn’t stand a chance with him. 

“He-he followed me to the bathroom,” Jihoon’s heart sinks in his stomach and he reaches out for Seungcheol’s uninjured hand, holds him. “And he called me a _baby_ , and I-I… I didn’t know what to do. And Gyu arrived and…” 

He lets out a whimper, shrinking into himself the way he always does when he’s upset. 

“Oh, Cheol,” Jihoon wants to comfort him, he really does, but he doesn’t know _how_ , he’s furious right now. 

“... I-I didn’t do anything to him, appa. Gyu protected me, but we-we weren’t doing anything wrong, I promise.” Seungcheol hiccups, looking so damn tiny Jihoon wants to pick him up and protect him from everything wrong in this world. “I-I was just playing, I didn’t…” 

Soonyoung that for once had been quiet through the whole exchange (Jihoon knows he gets absolutely murderous whenever someone hurts Seungcheol), kneels in front of his son. 

“We believe you, pumpkin.” Soonyoung says, tone soft, his first words ever since they arrived. “Appa will handle it, okay?” 

Oh, shit is about to go down.

Jihoon is sure of that. 

He loves Soonyoung dearly, and he’s a cute energetic person most of the time, but when he gets mad… 

The principal chooses that moment to leave his office, and as soon as he invites the parents in to talk, Soonyoung intervenes again, tone harsh.

The contrast is striking.“Of _course_ , I have things to say.” Soonyoung says, and it effectively brings Seungcheol back to tears again. “What kind of school is this? How did you let our son get hurt like this? Don’t you have a policy against bullies? Where was the coach when this was happening?”

Soonyoung cannot even wait for them to come inside to say this, the fact that the principal looks _calm_ while his son had just stopped crying.

When Seungcheol had just started to like this school and sports club. 

Seungcheol deserves so much better from them. 

And _yes_ , he’s mad. 

Wonwoo approaches in a second and Seungcheol just wraps his arms around his waist, buries his head on his sweater. 

“Shh, honey.” Jeonghan comes closer too, petting Seungcheol’s hair in the way that he knows calms him down. Mingyu’s holding Jeonghan’s free hand, and he looks uneasy too. “It’s not your fault. Appa’s not mad at you.”

 _appa wants to kill the principal_ , Jeonghan wants to say, but it isn’t a moment for jokes now.

(Although by the way Soonyoung is glaring, he might be considering it). 

“I-I got Gyu into trouble.” Seungcheol whispers, muffled because he won’t pull away from Wonwoo. 

That was the other thing weighing him down, Jihoon notices, the fact that he got _Mingyu_ into trouble.

These two… 

“You didn’t, Seungcheol.” Wonwoo assures him this time, places a gentle hand on his shoulder and lets him cuddle against his side. “Mingyu chose to protect you that way, it’s okay. You were just looking out for each other.” 

“Uncle,” Seungcheol whines, unsure still. 

“We’ll handle it, okay?” Jeonghan mimics Soonyoung’s words, pressing kisses on Seungcheol and Mingyu’s hair. Jihoon and Soonyoung reassure them also, and then they’re pulling away. “We’ll be right back.” 

Seungcheol lets out a distressed _appa_ and _uncle_ and another, _please dont leave_ , but they have to, and Mingyu is right by his side in a second. 

“It’s okay, hyung,” Mingyu smiles, his toothy grin and it’s enough to ease Seungcheol’s worries.

He isn’t alone if Mingyu is right here with him. 

_it’s okay_

So they watch their parents come inside the principal’s office. 

It’s not until forty minutes after they’re out, and when they find the kids again, they’re surprised to see them dozing off together, Mingyu holding a protective arm around Seungcheol, and Seungcheol just drooling all over Mingyu’s shoulder. 

They know it’s not really the moment to admire their kids’ friendship (not after the two of them still got suspended, but so did Kihyun, which was the original point of it all), but Jeonghan can’t help but to snap a photo anyways. 

He’s sure the kids will like to remember this story in a few years. 


End file.
